


Long Live The King

by HayamaRei



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Angst, M/M, i really have no excuse for this, king AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 12:20:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8624275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HayamaRei/pseuds/HayamaRei
Summary: When a king dies and the kingdom holds a tournament to find their new ruler Ryan knows he will win. But sometimes to come out a winner means you have to lose everything first.





	

Ryan stared at the boy in front of him. His eyes were filled with softness and sorrow, he wished it didn’t have to end like this. 

He had a reputation. He was merciless, cold, with a soul blacker than a moonless night. He didn’t feel, that’s what made him so good. That’s what made him fit. And yet, a boy sent ahead of his time, still not ready for the weight his people put on him, took one look at Ryan and made his dead heart beat again. 

It was doomed, from the very beginning they knew. Only one would walk away from it, only one could take the prize, and that person would be Ryan. They knew but that didn’t stop them. Didn’t stop the tender touches and whispered secrets. Didn’t stop Ryan making sure the boy was the one standing in front of him at the end. It had to be the two of them. In the short time they had together Ryan had managed to give him his heart. The boy with the rose on his armour and the laughter in his eyes. Ray. 

Ray who was now looking at him with reassurance. He’d accepted it. He’d promised he didn’t blame him. But it didn’t matter, Ryan blamed himself enough for both of them. Not yet, but he would. 

Ryan stepped closer, the people around them cheered. They expected a show again. Just like the previous times. They expected Ryan to do what he did. To cut and rip and torture. This was the end after all, they had to make it fantastic. The new king needed a glorious victory. Ryan didn’t think so. 

Ray was shaking ever so lightly. He was holding himself together, standing tall like a prince should, but from close enough Ryan could see through it. He cursed the world for being so cruel. Then again, he’d been just as cruel before he met Ray, too. Why was it different now? 

Ray took a step as well. His sword was hanging from his waist but he didn’t pull it out. Part of Ryan wished he did. 

“It’s okay,” Ray said and it was lost to everyone but Ryan. 

“No it’s not.” Ray smiled. It was sad but so brave that pride rised in Ryan’s chest. The boy didn’t deserve this. 

“Let’s get it over with. The people want to see you win.” 

Ray was right. They did. They shouted and cheered and waved. They wanted to see blood. Wanted their new king to bathe in it before taking the throne. 

“I’m sorry,” Ryan said softly and pulled his dagger out. It felt right to use one. More intimate. Ray was delicate, a sword wasn’t the weapon he deserved to be killed with. 

The dagger was thin and silver with a rose engraved on the handle. Ryan had gotten it the previous day. It was special. 

“Me too,” Ray breathed out and they cut the distance between them. 

The blade sank in Ray’s chest way too easy. It was sharp, Ryan didn’t want him to suffer more than he had to. The blood trickled out as Ray stared up at him, smile still ghosting over his lips. Ryan held him as he slid to the ground. 

“Thank you.” And just like that Ray was gone. 

Ryan felt it. Felt his own heart stop beating the moment the boy in his arms died. It hardened, turning into stone with no way of bringing it back again. 

His eyes stung with tears but he refused to let them fall. Ray wouldn’t want tears. 

As Ryan stood up, the boy’s blood covering his hands, the people exploded. The cheers turned deafening and someone ran up to Ryan to proclaim him a winner. He tuned it all out, eyes glued to the lifeless body on the ground beside him. 

He’d known he’d be the new king the moment he’d been chosen to compete in the tournament. What he hadn’t known was how much being a king could hurt. So he closed it away. Every shard of humanity he’d had, every part of him that could hurt. He pushed it to the deepest corner of his being, locked it in a cage, the key from which was held by someone who could never come back to unlock it. 

The people had wanted him. The people had cheered. The people didn’t know what choosing a madman with no soul meant but they were going to find out real soon.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll burn in hell, I know.


End file.
